NHL players, shown at a September meeting, overwhelmingly voted to allow the union to dissolve itself. / Mary Altaffer, AP

by Kevin Allen, USA TODAY Sports

by Kevin Allen, USA TODAY Sports

Players overwhelmingly authorized the executive board to issue a "disclaimer of interest" to dissolve the union.

"No surprise," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said via e-mail. "Any other result and I certainly would have questioned the solidarity of the union."

The NHL Players' Association executive board and negotiating committee was scheduled to hold a conference call Friday afternoon, on Day 97 of the lockout, to determine the next step. The NHLPA doesn't have to issue a disclaimer immediately and could choose to attempt another round of negotiations before embracing that move.

NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr said in a Thursday radio interview that he didn't view the upcoming holidays as an impediment to negotiating.

The NHL last week filed a preemptive lawsuit in federal court in New York, which historically has been more favorable to businesses. According to the lawsuit, the union planned to decide by Jan. 2 whether to dissolve.

The NHL has canceled games through Jan. 14, and that appears to be close to the date when the league will have to make a decision about whether to cancel the season. Commissioner Gary Bettman has said he likely wouldn't want to have a season with fewer games than the 48 played after the 1994-95 lockout.

If the NHLPA notifies the NHL that it no longer is representing the players anymore, that opens the door for individual players to file antitrust lawsuits to have the lockout declared illegal.

NFL and NBA players both followed this path in their most recent collective bargaining agreement, but in both situations, a new CBA was agreed upon before the lawsuit was allowed to play out. NFL players Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Tom Brady originally won an injunction in Minnesota to end the lockout in 2011, but that decision was overturned on appeal. If NHL players file an antitrust suit from triple damages, it likely would be in Minnesota or in California, which historically has been favorable to unions,

Although the NHLPA has accepted the league's request for a 50-50 split of hockey-related revenue, they have been at a stalemate over several issues, including the league's desire to cap the length of individual contracts. Owners are seeking a five-year limit on individual contracts, with an allowance of seven years for teams trying to re-sign their own player.

Owners are also seeking a 5% year-to-year variance limit to prevent teams from giving out back-diving contracts that circumvent the salary cap by tacking on lower years at the end.

The two sides also don't agree on how long the new CBA should last: Owners want a 10-year deal with an eight-year opt-out clause, and players want an eight-year deal with a six-year opt-out.

Another major issue is the NHLPA's desire to allow teams to buy out some players' contracts to help teams to fit more easily under the lower salary cap that would result by players accepting a reduction in their share of the revenue from 57% to 50%.

The two parties have kept in touch, but they haven't met since last week when federal mediators failed for the second time to help them resolve their differences.